Rep. Deal stays just a little bit longer

DALTON — Just three days after announcing his resignation from Congress, Rep. Nathan Deal said he isn’t ready to leave just yet.

The Gainesville Republican announced Monday that he would be leaving Congress on March 8 to concentrate on his run for governor. But on Thursday, Deal said he was delaying his resignation until March 31.

“Just two days after I announced my intentions to leave Congress, the majority party stepped up the schedule for the proposed health care bill,” Deal said in a statement. “Having been deeply involved in all health care legislation for the past decade, I knew it was important to stay and vote down this bill.”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Thursday he believes the House of Representatives is on schedule to vote on a health care reform bill by March 18.

Deal said Gov. Sonny Perdue urged him to stay until the health care vote. But Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said Deal simply called the governor to inform him of his plans.

“There was no encouragement either way,” Brantley said.

“Yesterday, as I listened to President Obama’s aggressive push for a quick vote on ‘Obama-Care,’ it was clear that I must stay in Congress and continue to fight against the most liberal health care agenda ever proposed,” Deal said.

Deal represents Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties.

Margaret Ball, chairman of the 9th Congressional District Democratic Party Committee, said Thursday afternoon that Deal’s decision means that he’s heard from plenty of people upset that he is resigning before his term ends on Dec. 31.

“What can I say? He changes his mind. He changed his mind about being a Democrat and became a Republican. He changed his mind about serving in Congress and is running for governor. Now, he’s changing his mind about resigning, at least for a month,” Ball said.

Deal was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 as a Democrat. He switched to the Republican Party in 1995.

But Whitfield County Board of Commissioners chairman Mike Babb, a Republican and supporter of Deal’s gubernatorial campaign, said he wished Deal would resign immediately.

“It’s more important that he become governor of Georgia than continue on as a Republican congressman in a Democratic-controlled legislature,” Babb said.

Babb said that the Democrats have the votes to pass health care if they stick together, regardless of whether Deal stays or not.

“It’s like a I heard someone say on television, the real vote on health care is going to come this November,” Babb said.

Deal’s decision drew applause from some of the Republicans seeking to replace him in Congress.

“It’s a very responsible thing for Nathan Deal to do, to stay in Congress for an extra three or four weeks to make sure his vote is there to defeat this health care bill,” said Dr. Chris Cates, a Blairsville cardiologist. “Obama-Care is really more about control than it is improving health care. So it’s very important to have somebody to have somebody in Congress who understands this bill and what to do about it.”

State Sen. Lee Hawkins said he “couldn’t be more pleased” that Deal decided to delay his departure from Congress.

“The current health care bill is something most Americans do not want,” said Hawkins, a dentist from Gainesville. “Had Congressman Deal not decided to stay for the vote he would put Barack Obama one vote closer to being able to ram this legislation through.”

Deal’s decision makes the date of a special election to fill the remainder of his term even more uncertain. Georgia law requires the governor to call a special election within 10 days of Deal’s resignation taking effect. The election must take place at least 30 days after the governor calls for it.

No date has been set for the special election, and it isn’t clear whether it would be held concurrent with the July 20 Republican and Democratic primaries or before that.

If the special election happens before the primaries, the 15 counties of the 9th District will incur the expense of that election.

“Democracy is messy. If we didn’t vote on it, we could just let the governor appoint us a congressman, so this is just part of the cost of letting the voters decide their leadership,” said Babb. “The $20,000 it would cost us? Well, I’m a big Nathan Deal supporter. He’s always worked well with us. If he becomes governor, it would be the best $20,000 we ever spent.”

Georgia’s general election will be Nov. 2, which will include the regular election for the 9th District House seat (representatives are elected every two years).

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Murray County

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